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Guangdong, China's largest provincial economy, saw its gross
domestic product expanded 10% to ¥5.3 trillion in 2011. In per
capita terms, residents of the province pulled in an average of
¥50,500, or $7,819, and thus approaching the World Bank's 2010
standards for classification as an upper middle income economy.
But despite Guangdong's new-found affluence, in several respects
the province still lags behind the country's two flagship cities:
Shanghai and Beijing.

Shanghai's GDP grew 8.2% – one of the slowest paces across the
nation – to ¥1.92 trillion last year, while its per capita GDP –
the highest in mainland China – averaged ¥82,560, or $13,106, a
level comparable to the World Bank's standard of "rich income."
Beijing's per capita GDP was only moderately lower, at ¥80,394.

However, the residents of China's top two cities, are not as
better off as they look like. Disposable household incomes in
Shanghai and Beijing were ¥36,230 and ¥32,900 respectively last
year, or just 43.9% and 40.9% of per capita GDP, well below the
55% to 60% range observed in most developed countries. High
inflation and cost of living expenses in both cities relative to
the rest of the country also reduce the spending power of their
residents.

The situation of Shanghai and Beijing residents becomes even more
grim when housing prices are counted in. An average apartment in
Shanghai or Beijing costs ¥2 million; meaning that it would take
a household composed of two income earners 28 years to pay for a
home in either city. A more common duration in the rest of China
is six to eight years.

China's GDP grew 9.2% in 2011 but its government revenue jumped
28.4%. That is to say, the government harvested goods three times
faster than its people produced them, making the government
richer and its people poorer.